Interview

You may best know Nikolai Fraiture as bassist of New York rockers The Strokes. As the band is taking some time off before the eventual release of their new album, Fraiture been busy with his new band Summer Moon, who released their debut album With You Tonight today via DTF Records.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to chat with Fraiture over the phone as New York was hit with a rather heavy snowstorm. A major contrast to the wonderful, summer-like weather that we’re currently experiencing today, which fits the record quite nicely.

We talk about the new record, how the band came together, the difference between making music in L.A. and New York, and the time he and Julian Casablancas went to see Jane’s Addiction play in 1997. You can find our whole conversation posted below and can buy the album here.Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a big year for Shreveport Louisiana soul rockers Seratones, who released their great debut album, Get Gone, via Fat Possum. They’ve been touring non-stop all year, and return to us here in New York for a show tomorrow night at Mercury Lounge.

Back in May, after catching their more than memorable opening performance for The Dandy Warhols at Bowery Ballroom, we spoke over e-mail with frontwoman AJ Haynes, about the bands success so far, the history of the band, and some of their influences. We are proud to share our chat with AJ with you, find the entire conversation posted below:Read the rest of this entry »

There was a point in time where I started to wonder if The Last Shadow Puppets would ever return. The duo of Alex Turner and Miles Kane had been gone for eight years, understandably busy with their other projects. Thankfully, this year the stars aligned and the duo are back with their long-awaited sophomore album Everything You’ve Come To Expect, which was released last Friday via Domino Records.

A few months ago on a cold day in early February, I headed to the Ace Hotel to meet up with Alex and Miles, to chat over some fine cups of tea and talk about stepping back into the spotlight, the new album, how they work together as a duo, and what what exactly fans can expect this time around. I even brought up the James Bond comparisons, and what exactly it would take for them to pen the next Bond song.

In mid-March British rockers Palma Violets made their return to New York to play some songs from their new album Danger In The Club. I caught their rowdy sold out performance at Baby’s All Right on March 18, a show that literally saw parts of the soundproofing on the ceiling fall on top of the crowd.

Before the show, I met up with Palma Violets bassist and singer Chilli Jesson, along with the bands merch guy and unofficial 5th member, Harry Violent (he introduces the band before every show), backstage to talk about their new album, their return to America, and expectations from their fans and themselves.

Last week French- Finnish duo The Dø finally released their new album Shake Shook Shaken here in the states (it was released in Europe last fall and was #1 on the Album Chart on iTunes in France). On top of that, they were just awarded the honor of rock album of the year at Les Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent to The Grammy’s). So they have plenty to celebrate at the moment, but now have their sights set on capturing audiences stateside.

Back in December I had a chance to chat with The Dø’s Olivia Merilahti about the new album, their new approach to recording music, as well as tackling the U.S.

New Build is the side-project of Hot Chip members Felix Martin and Al Doyle, as well as engineer Tom Hopkins. With the release of new album Pour It On earlier in the year, the electronic group returned to the states for a mini U.S. tour in early December.

The band rolled in to New York on December 3 to play Mercury Lounge, which we covered with a set of photos. But before the show, I met up with Felix Martin to talk about the new record, members roles within the group, and the difference of releasing their music on a label, as opposed to self-releasing.

Julian Casablancas is a man that needs no introduction. When he’s not fronting a little rock band known as The Strokes, he’s singing along with Daft Punk or doing his own solo work with his new band The Voidz.

He’s currently on tour with The Voidz in support of their debut album Tyranny. They’re dropping back into New York City tomorrow night for a homecoming show at The Hammerstein along with Shabazz Palaces and Blood Orange. (Tickets are on sale here)

I had the honor and privilege of chatting with Julian over the phone last Friday night, right before he performed with The Voidz in Toronto. We spoke about the new project, life on the road, what success means to him at this point in his career, as well as the goal of his label Cult Records.

The Drums are back. Next week they release their new album Encyclopedia, and tonight they play a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom (they also played a sold out Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday). I’ll be covering the show tonight and am terribly excited to see these guys, as always.

I recently spoke to the band’s Jacob Graham online in an interview where we discussed the new album, the current state of the band, and much, much more.

Alexis Taylor is the soft spoken vocalist and frontman of Hot Chip, the London outfit that has made you dance and one point or another. This year he released a new solo album called Await Barbarians a gentle album made for private listening on your headphones (his words).

Late last month I had the pleasuring of speaking to Taylor over the phone a week after seeing him play a show at Rough Trade. We spoke about a variety of things, such as how the show went, his new album, how he balances so many projects, and of course, the new Hot Chip album that is in production.

With The Walkmen on indefinite hiatus, it has given its members new freedom to venture out on their own. Such as member Peter Matthew Bauer, who released his debut album Liberation! on Mexican Summer last month. I’ve seen Bauer’s live show now, and can confirm that he’s made the full transition into a solo musician.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Bauer over the phone, where we talked about life as a solo musician, the influence behind his album, and if he would ever consider getting the band back together.